Picking at the Thread

A single spot ruins the blouse.

Politicians do not seem to get the notion that the demonstration of wide and/or deep bad behavior in politics elevates no one. Confidence in our leaders and their motives is an elemental adhesive in the political structure and the demonstration of cracks influences everyone. Trump was elected in part because the opposition was seen as insincere and corrupt. Showing Trump as insincere or corrupt will only prove the point.

From an opinion piece by Hanson:

"By charging former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn for lying to the FBI, Mueller emphasized that even the appearance of false testimony is felonious behavior.

If that is so, then the DOJ will likely have to charge former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe with perjury or related offenses. A report from the Office of the Inspector General indicates that McCabe lied at least four times to federal investigators.

Former FBI Director James Comey may also have lied to Congress when he testified that he had not written his report on the Hillary Clinton email scandal before interviewing Clinton. Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan lied under oath to Congress on matters related to surveillance.

...

Clinton aides Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin likely lied when they told FBI investigators they had no idea that their then-boss, Hillary Clinton, was using an illegal private email server. Both had communicated with Clinton about it.

....

Mueller is also said to be investigating whether Trump or his advisers broke laws concerning the release of confidential government information.

If so, the DOJ may have to indict Comey. He confessed to passing along confidential FBI memos to a friend for the expressed purpose of leaking their contents to the press.

....

High-ranking Obama administration officials may also be subject to indictments, given that they may have requested the "unmasking" of American citizens whose communications were intercepted during the surveillance of foreign parties and then leaked the names of those citizens to the press."

I think the instinct for all government officials to protect themselves will win the day and this predicted chaos will not occur. But at some point the investigation itself will have to reveal itself as incomplete; no purifying movement can ever be complete.

And then it will be seen as insincere. And corrupt.